Johnny Cash - The Man in Black
Legendary Country Musician
Cash was born in Kingsland, Arkansas on February 26, 1932 to Roy and Carrie Cash. The name on his birth certificate is J.R. Cash, reportedly because he parents couldn’t agree on a name. He was raised during the Great Depression. As a youth, his family took part in Roosevelt’s Dyess Colony and moved to the Delta country of Arkansas near the Mississippi River where they received 20 acres of land and a house.
Music was a part of his life from an early age. His father enjoyed singing and his mother played both the piano and the guitar. Cash was raised signing hymns from the Church of God. During his school years, he acted and sang and by age 16, his mother took in laundry to pay for his formal singing lessons.
After he graduated from high school, he worked briefly in a Fisher Body plant before joining the Air Force. Because the Air Force wouldn’t accept only initials, he chose the name “John.” He served most of his stint in Germany and was discharged in 1954. He married Vivian Liberto and moved to Memphis to begin a family.
It was during his tenure in the military that he learned to play guitar and began writing songs. His song, “Hey Porter,” was published as a poem in the military newspaper, Stars and Strips.
Johnny Cash and Nashville
In 1955, Cash was picked up by Sun Records, the label that discovered Elvis. His first single was “Hey Porter” and it climbed to Number 14 on the Billboard Charts. It was his third single, “I Walk the Line” that became his first Number 1, and it stayed there for six weeks and even broke into the Top 20 on the Pop Charts.
Cash joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1956 and began doing national television appearances. In 1957, he signed with Columbia and his first single with them went to Number 1. “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town,” a Western gunfighter song earned him an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show on CBS.
Johnny Cash and Drugs
It was during the early 60s that Cash began to abuse pills and became famous for “redecorating” his hotel rooms while on tour. Still, his musical career succeeded. He recorded “Ring of Fire” in 1963. He toured with The Carter Family and The Statler Brothers. In 1965, he was arrested for drug possession in El Paso, Texas, but got off with a suspended sentence and was fined.
He divorced his wife, Vivian, in 1966 and his drug problems grew. After several near fatal experiences, he finally overcame his addiction. It was during this time that he developed a relationship with June Carter.
His 1967 album, Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, sold extremely well and the live version of “Folsom Prison Blues” went to number one. He married June Carter in June of 1968 and the next year he was given his own variety television show on ABC.
He continued touring throughout the 1970s and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1980. His drug problem resurfaced and he nearly died from abdominal problems. His sales dropped, but Cash stayed in the limelight, becoming part of The Highwaymen with Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings.
Cash died September 12, 2003 from complications from diabetes. He sold over 90 million records during his legendary career.
Sources:
Kienzle, Rich. "Johnny Cash." The Comprehensive Country Music Encyclopedia. New York: Random House, 1994.
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